Unless Huddersfield Town beat Ipswich next weekend by more than a dozen goals AND other results go in our favour, Saturday’s draw with Birmingham has confirmed our relegation to League One (though I suppose a more modest victory would be OK if Plymouth lose their game by seven or eight goals). My dad made the point that a 1-1 draw was a fitting result to virtually seal our fate, as it’s the result Town have all too often ended games on this season, often in games where they should have won. This game was their fourteenth 1-1 draw of the season and like the thirteen before, Town had the chances to win the game but not the quality in front of goal to finish them off. So can we really complain about going down? I’m not sure we can, despite all the bad luck and injustices, we’ve also been the architects of our own downfall with the number of times we’ve been involved in games where just a little bit more would have been enough to win the game yet time and again Town couldn’t produce enough to get the better of an opponent that was there for the taking.
Relegation is dreadful for any club and it’s tempting to try and soften the blow by looking on the bright side but while the reality sets in, I think I’ll mostly just wallow in my own misery in this blogpost. Maybe later in the week I’ll write about the silver linings and start thinking about the wider implications of dropping down a level but for now I’m just a bit sad about a season ending in failure. So I apologise in advance that this won’t be a particularly cheery write up. Instead I’ll fo us more on the game itself and our manager’s odd post-match comments.
A pretty decent performance that lacked the goal to top it off
If this performance had come a few months ago, I would probably have come away optimistic that despite only drawing, Town played fairly well against a surprisingly good opponent – so it was a decent point. While this was literally the result that all but confirmed our relegation, it wasn’t this particular performance that is responsible for us going down. It’s all those timid draws, gutless surrenders and strikerless lineups that really scuppered this season. It’s hard to know what might have happened in an alternative timeline but I suspect Breitenreiter would most likely have got a tune out of this squad if he’d have had a bit more time to turn the ship around.
The first half was a bit drab and cagey but both teams had spells where they showed they could play, Town’s in the opening moments, Birmingham’s when they could get Keshi Anderson to run at our defenders in isolation. But I think we were a bit unlucky to be a goal down at half time, despite shaky defending being on show well before Town failed to deal with the cross for the opener.
Birmingham were similarly flat footed when Turton and Rudoni combined nicely down the right flank which led to a cross that Healey turned home with a regulation finish that reminded Town fans what a real striker playing in the role of a striker looks like. The chance for Town to save their season came and went in the following fifteen minutes when we had the momentum after the goal and pushed on for the winner that never came. The belief and backing from the crowd was high after our equaliser but it evaporated as the team ran out of steam and we never quite looked as likely again despite subs being thrown on to try and change the game. If anything, the new faces disrupted Town’s rhythm and led to us changing our patterns of play to ones that worked less well. For example, we seem incapable of doing anything but passing the ball to Sorba Thomas when he’s on the pitch even if he’s having a poor game. So our whole gameplan falls to pieces if he’s overhitting every cross, which he seemed to do on Saturday.
Things got a bit desperate in the closing stages as both teams realised that relegation was looming if they didn’t find a winner but the fear of the drop didn’t produce the goal that both teams desperately wanted despite their best efforts.
Had the final whistle not made it clear that Town were destined for League One, I probably would have walked away from this game moderately happy with a game that was low on quality but full of commitment and effort.
Breitenreiter’s comments spark concern
After the game, there were some worrying remarks from Andre Breitenreiter both when he spoke to Radio Leeds and when he spoke to the written press later. When he was interviewed by Paul Ogden for the radio, he talked about how there were some players that left early and how this was a regular habit of some members of the squad. He also said he waited too long to “suspend” some players – which I think he meant drop from the team rather than the usual meaning of suspend – and replace them with more dependable players.
Then in the press conference that Steven Chicken reported on, Bretenreiter said he had seen unacceptable things in his time at Town that he had not seen in his thirty years in football. He wouldn’t be drawn on specifics during the press conference with one game still to go in the season but suggested he might spill the beans once the season is over. From the context of his remarks he is clearly very unhappy with the levels of professionalism and attitudes from some of the players.
I don’t want to name names or point fingers, but the team selection and recent performances makes it quite transparent the main culprits that Breitenreiter is referring to here. There were some comments about managing personalities in this group made by Neil Warnock during his time in charge too but obviously he is a master of that side of the game and had the knack for galvanising the team and getting the best out of them. It seems that Breitenreiter has given up on that goal and is now focussing on the players he believes are committed to the cause and plans to exclude those he believes are poor characters.
Is Breitenreiter on his way out of the club?
I think I’ll save speculation about all the other implications of relegation for a future blog post but it feels impossible to avoid talking about whether our Head Coach is going to hang around because his current behaviour points towards an imminent exit. His loose lipped comments and open frustration with the players suggest he has mentally checked out already and despite not being specific about his future plans, my impression is that he isn’t going to be around much longer.
He took on the job at Town with the team hovering precariously above the relegation zone, so he must have known this was a potential outcome but I suspect he thought he would be able to arrest our downward spiral and guide us to safety. The fact he couldn’t make much of an impact during his time at Town, and in fact failed to capitalise on the feel-good factor Jon Worthington created, makes me neutral about whether he stays or goes.
My feeling is that he would have made a firm commitment to hanging around and fighting for promotion from League One if that was his desire. His reluctance to put the speculation to bed suggests he doesn’t want to slum it with Town in the third tier and I can see why it wouldn’t appeal to an ambitious manager. If he does well at that level it doesn’t add much to his CV and if, as is fairly likely, we struggle, it reflects badly on him. So why hang around, particularly if you think the squad is packed full of bad apples you hate working with, which he’s made clear with his recent comments.
I don’t really care whether he leaves or stays, as long as the decision is made quickly and we know where we stand for the upcoming season. If he is hanging around then he needs to be properly committed and give Town his all, because League One is a tough division to get out of and I’d rather see him cracking the whip and making the players follow his methods rather than complaining that they don’t keep the timetable he wants. If he’s not up for it, then he should leave as soon as possible so a new coaching team can be in place quickly to make sure preseason goes smoothly.
Do we want to win against Ipswich?
I can sincerely say I’ve never wanted Town to lose a game, and this weekend’s game won’t be any different. But, this game has the unusual scenario of a victory doing nothing to help Town’s prospects (unless we score around 14 or 15 goals) and has potential to help Leeds secure automatic promotion if they also manage to win their game too. So, while a Town win is unlikely, it could help our biggest rivals get back into the Premier League.
Leeds fans will no doubt be keeping a careful eye on Town’s lineup and approach to this game for any hint of foul play. While it would be funny to see us play a youth team or to score a couple of own goals to allow Ipswich to go up and consign Leeds to the playoffs, I think we’ll show some integrity and play to win this game. Having said that, we typically can’t compete with the league’s better teams, so I can’t see any realistic situation where we would be at risk of helping Leeds out anyway, so I suspect we won’t have too much to worry about. But if Lee Nicholls “accidentally” throws the ball into his own net in the 94th minute to gift Ipswich the win, I won’t be crying too hard.
What now?
In case anyone out there was worried, I’ll be continuing this blog despite Town’s relegation. My sporadic posting schedule this season has been more down to my personal circumstances than events on the pitch. I’ll try to post more often when there’s something worth writing about. In the short term I’ll write about the relegation aftermath and what it means. Then over the summer there will more than likely be quite a bit of change to report on, possibly in the boardroom and with the manager but certainly with the playing staff. After that there will be the fun of fixtures coming out, preseason and the optimism that a new season brings. It’s hard to think about being optimistic again so soon after such a blow but it’s one of the nice things about being a football fan. No matter how devastating the season before was, you have a few months off over the summer and can start again in August with the same amount of points as everyone else.
why on earth did the powers that be not keep Neil Warnock ?
Officially, we were in a position of strength to bring in the “long term” replacement as Neil Warnock was never meant to be there for very long. My guess is the real reason is the execs found him impossible to work with because he had too many of his own ideas and wouldn’t accept their ideas. The final nail in the coffin most likely being the criticism of the budget he was given for new players including the contract renewals. Given how fine the margins have been between relegation and survival, it feels like a very costly decision to get rid of Warnock. Though at the time, Moore seemed like a good appointment as many other clubs fancied him. Not so much now he’s been involved in two relegations in the same season.
As brilliant as he was keeping us up last season we lost four of the first five games at the start of this one and when he left we had seven points from seven games. So it’s not difficult to understand why the decision to change was taken when it was.
We did have a poor start to the season but with the fixtures we had and the squad as it was, it wasn’t a terrible points return. I’d have preferred we kept Warnock as long as possible but he does have a reputation as being better as a firefighter than building teams to fight for a whole season.
Unforgivable:
– no experienced championship striker purchased or backup during the summer. By the way I don’t consider Ward a striker so that re-signing doesn’t count.
– Released a proper backup striker in Rhodes albeit he would be my 3rd backup – people have short memories only Jordan’s natural striker instincts got us to Wembley with the sublime finish against Luton.
– January window did not purchase battle hardened, fit and ready strikers.
– Started vast majority of games without a recognised striker.
– Creative midfielder … sorry my enthusiasm is failing we all know the story.
– Finally Breitenreiter is not the answer. His tactics, substitutions, in game management were bizarre and his lack of man management and motivational skills appear to be non-existence and in fact are positively retrograde. The guy simply has no balls for the fight.
– Sorry one final note – talking to a lot of fans we don’t feel connected to the majority if players – we need more Yorkshire lads in the team that we can associate with. One of reasons we quickly reconnected with Jon Worthington.
All good points, though I rate Danny Ward more highly than you (when he’s fit, which he rarely is). I was baffled by Breitenreiter’s complaints about indiscipline when the person most responsible for maintaining discipline is him. He seems pretty fearsome on the surface but those remakes came off as whiny and a bit pathetic.
I agree with your point about Worhtington and connecting with fans. It all seemed very simple for those few weeks he was in charge. He got the fans and players fired up with a basic but energetic type of football. It might not have worked in the long run, but it was the best spell of an otherwise dismal season.
The points regarding connecting with the fans is a good one . In the last 2 seasons we have had managers who didnt seem to buy into the ethos of the club and therefore always seemed to be not quite accepted by the supporters . The job was too big for Schofield , Fotheringham didnt work on a few levels and Moore seemed to want to change the superficial things for example running out to the other side of the ground at kick off but not deal with the fact we couldnt hold on to advantages when we were in front towards the end of games . Our latest manager seems to be a bit shocked by what he has come into and i struggle to see where we are going under him and his post match comments are bizarre to say the least . We all know things need to change in the heart of the club as a whole so we can halt the slide and put a solid base down before coming back up to the Championship but im not convinced Breitenreiter is the man to lead us . Surely he could see what he was getting into when he took the job ? The first few results were down to the fact we were still feeling good about ourselves and playing decent football under Worthington but you need strikers on the pitch if you are going to score which i would have thought was obvious . I also feel neutral about him leaving but if he does go lets get someone in who can put identity back into the club and play with a bit of passion and heart which is what we as fans ask for . See you all in League 1 and as always UTT.
If we are looking for a new manager soon, someone who can create a winning mentality and get the culture right is obviously essential. It feels like it should be basic and relatively easy to do but given so many fail at this take it must be very hard to manage so many egos in the dressing room and get them all pulling in the same direction. My big wish for next season is that the fun comes back to watching Town. That’s what Warnock did for a few months, then it left.
I think the team have probably reached their correct level, may have stayed up with a good man manager like Warnock, but not with this guy. On his way out, probably with half the squad, although some may find it difficult to find another team. Nagle’s dream has fallen a bit flat at the moment, and must accept some of the blame. I’ve been a terrier for 60 years and seen a couple of terms in the top division, but when relegated it all seems to go to pot, there must be a historic club management problem. You just need to look at Bournemouth and Brighton to see how it can be done properly.
I think Bournemouth and Brighton are well managed but they’ve also had significant backing too. We’ve always tried to do it on the cheap and it’s never worked. Brighton are currently making huge profits on their player sales but the ones they are selling from £100m+ weren’t signing from Solihull Moors for a hundred grand and some goal posts. It takes upfront investment to get to the stage where you can establish yourself at that level. We might get there one day but this relegation means we’ve a bit longer to wait to see if it can happen.
An alternative interpretation would be that AB is waiting for a discussion with the management about available funding for rebuilding the team before committing himself. He said that he was impressed by their ambition when he joined, but he’ll want to nail that down to some concrete plans for the next couple of years.
That may be true. He hinted that there’s more going on behind the scenes than we know about. I hope he spills the beans more after Ipswich so we can have a bit of clarity.
At the time I remember saying when the new owner got rid of Warnock so quickly ‘I hope he know what he’s doing’.
Then he started talking about buying the ground and property development I became very suspicious.
His non-strategy has been a disaster.
What is he here for?
I think he’s a very wealthy man who is having fun with an English football team because it was too expensive to turn his American one into an MLS team. He seems sincere and decent but I think the people he’s put in positions of power have performed poorly so far. I think we’re fine as long as he’s still enjoying himself but I worry that getting abused by loads of grumpy Yorkshire folk might take the shine off it for him eventually. There might be a secret plan behind his ownership but my impression is that his intentions are to do the right thing by the club and his mistakes so far have been honest ones. Time will tell.
Excellent write up. Could find nothing to disagree with (and I do try). Glad you’re back and am looking forward to your updates between now and next season. One question haunts me a bit – is our current regime capable of spotting a good coach and persuading him to take the job? Or is it more likely to be yet another shot in the dark?
Thanks Gavin. I don’t know about whether we can either attract or pick a decent manager if Breitenreiter goes. In fairness, Moore looked like a good appointment on paper and Carlos had nothing going for him other than being Bielsa’s mate. Likewise Wagner being Klopp’s best man.
Kev has gone predictably quiet waiting for the storm from the angry internet trolls to subside. He must be wondering what the hell he has bought into given the way this season has played out. Nevertheless it’s clear that serious mistakes have been made and I hope he has the courage to admit it and move on (not literally).
Should Ipswich beat Coventry our neighbours down the road will watch our last game in the hope that we can put at least 7 past the second best team in the division. Every cloud as they say !
I think Kevin Nagle has been a bit too vocal at times but his tendency to back off completely at times isn’t always a great idea. He’s said he’ll do a video Q&A after this weekend’s game, so there should be some answers then.
Now our relegation is certain, Saturday could be one of the most pleasureable defeats of my time watching Town. Assuming we lose.
His problem is that for some fans whatever he does is wrong, because he’s a ‘yank’ who doesn’t understand English football. They want an owner with ambition so when he mentions his aim is to get the team back to the PL, they call it a ‘3yr plan’ and mock him when it gets off to a bad start. Similarly previous owners have been criticised for not engaging with fans, so his presence on social media is initially welcomed, then criticised when he says too much and now criticised for not saying enough! Let’s be clear, he’s not the main reason we’ve been relegated. He had a chance to prevent it, and as he has admitted he’s made mistakes, but he took on a mess that has built up over several years.